Ferrari loads up on mediums for Montreal F1 weekend

The race weekend at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will mark the second appearance of the C5 compound, the softest available tyre in Pirelli's 2019 range, after Monaco.

But while teams overwhelmingly favoured the C5 in their choices for Monaco, they were more keen on the harder compounds for Canada.

Red Bull and Ferrari in particular have chosen only seven sets of the red-walled tyre for each of their drivers, with only Williams driver George Russell getting as few C5 sets among the rest of the field.

Ferrari has chosen to stock up on the C4 tyre, equipping both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc with a grid-high five sets of the yellow-walled medium.

Championship leader Mercedes will hand Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas eight sets of the C5 each, with Hamilton getting one more set of mediums at the expense of an additional set of the hard compound.

McLaren has opted to request nine sets of the soft for each of its drivers, with Racing Point and Alfa Romeo doing likewise.

Red Bull and Ferrari are currently carrying out a two-day testing programme for Pirelli at French GP venue Paul Ricard.

Ferrari pair Leclerc and Vettel combined for 110 laps of the circuit on Tuesday, with Pierre Gasly logging 108 laps as the tyre manufacturer worked on its 2020 intermediate and wet compounds.

Max Verstappen will take over for Gasly in the Red Bull on Wednesday.

Canadian GP tyre selections

Photo by: Pirelli